Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
RFC 1630 - 4.2.2. FTP

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### 4.2.2. FTP

The ftp: prefix indicates that the FTP protocol is used, as defined in STD 9, RFC 959 or any successor. The port number, if present, gives the port of the FTP server if not the FTP default.

User name and password

  The syntax allows for the inclusion of a user name and even a password for those systems which do not use the anonymous FTP convention. The default, however, if no user or password is supplied, will be to use that convention, viz. that the user name is "anonymous" and the password the user's Internet-style mail address.

  Where possible, this mail address should correspond to a usable mail address for the user, and preferably give a DNS host name which resolves to the IP address of the client. Note that servers currently vary in their treatment of the anonymous password.

Path

  The FTP protocol allows for a sequence of CWD commands (change working directory) and a TYPE command prior to service commands such as RETR (retrieve) or NLIST (etc.) which actually access a file.

  The arguments of any CWD commands are successive segment parts of the URL delimited by slash, and the final segment is suitable as the filename argument to the RETR command for retrieval or the directory argument to NLIST.

  For some file systems (Unix in particular), the "/" used to denote the hierarchical structure of the URL corresponds to the delimiter used to construct a file name hierarchy, and thus, the filename will look the same as the URL path. This does NOT mean that the URL is a Unix filename.

  Note: Retrieving subsequent URLs from the same host

  There is no common hierarchical model to the FTP protocol, so if a directory change command has been given, it is impossible in general to deduce what sequence should be given to navigate to another directory for a second retrieval, if the paths are different. The only reliable algorithm is to disconnect and reestablish the control connection.

Data type

  The data content type of a file can only, in the general FTP case, be deduced from the name, normally the suffix of the name. This is not standardized. An alternative is for it to be transferred in information outside the URL. A suitable FTP transfer type (for example binary "I" or text "A") must in turn be deduced from the data content type. It is recommended that conventions for suffixes of public archives be established, but it is outside the scope of this standard.

  An FTP URL may optionally specify the FTP data transfer type by which an object is to be retrieved. Most of the methods correspond to the FTP "Data Types" ASCII and IMAGE for the retrieval of a document, as specified in FTP by the TYPE command. One method indicates directory access. The data type is specified by a suffix to the URL. Possible suffixes are:

             ;type = <type-code>     Use FTP type as given to perform data
                                     transfer.

             /                       Use FTP directory list commands to read
                                     directory

  The type code is in the format defined in RFC 959 except that THE SPACE IS OMITTED FROM THE URL.

Transfer Mode

  Stream Mode is always used.

Next: 4.2.3. Gopher

Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
RFC 1630 - 4.2.2. FTP